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      08-19-2022, 09:51 PM   #1
NealfromNZ
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Editing orginal start with final choices,

——————

1 Mobridge 8.1.1 Most25 amplifier
2 Pairs of focal Es100k components for doors
1 Pair of HK underseat woofers , Now Morel IP-BMWSUB2
1 Boston Acoustic SPG555 subwoofer and Passive radiator trunk sub in 1 cubic foot enclosure.

Most fibre wire from idrive 4.2 to a amplifier
Custom Speaker Loom
Active front Tweeters
Recode from base audio to top hifi
Map DSP and Time Alignment
ID6 hardware retrofit


——————————————————-

Note , whilst I’ve been into building car stereos for 35 years I’m still learning so treat my views as a hobbyist.



Have recently traded an E46 M3 in on a 2016 F80 LCI.

With My e46 I built quite an elaborate audio system with nice components, 8 channel dsp , multi amped and decent sub. Roughly a 1000 rms system in terms of power and time alignment with front bias set around the drivers position.

Going from this to the F80 base audio system as been interesting. Lack of dynamics , irritating active sound design, mid bass over pronounced and no highs. However, what I do like is the uncomplicated arrangement of a few speaker positions in the doors and having potential mid bass 40 hz - 150 hz coming from near the front. Also sounds like the front mid and tweeter locations should give a good sound stage, better positioning than the e46.

Have been reading posts in this excellent site so thank you for those who have imparted knowledge.

Plan

Front stage
Two way components, will run passive crossovers and factory speaker wiring
Tossing up between Gladen 201 Extreme , Focal K2 es100s or possibly audio frog
Replace A pillar trims with BMW hk trims for tweeter mount position

Under-seat woofers

From what I understand is the base audio woofers are only 6.5 inch drivers with an enclosure that is internally smaller than hk / hifi ones ? If so will need to get the bigger hifi / hk version and replace the woofers.

Underseat woofer choice ( undecided )
Focal ibmw v2
Gladen 201 extreme
Audison BMW

Rear Doors
Two way components ( means drilling hole for tweeters :-( )
Either focal or Gladen

Subwoofer
Thinking of reusing my old Boston spg555 and passive radiator in a 1 cubic foot enclosure. Tuned for 23hz f3.

Wiring
Use base stereo wiring for components to doors. ( although I haven’t check wiring gauge yet )
Tweeter / Mid / Crossover wiring in doors
Technic augment wiring for under-seat woofers to make them active
Techinic ASD audio bypass with amp audio output.
Usual heavy gauge for 1000 rms / 2 ohm subwoofer.
Possible Most fibre audio connection

Amps
Thinking of going small footprint class d. 50 -100 wrms for components
100 - 200 wrms for underseat , 600 - 1000 rms on subwoofer. Will use class D for size and power efficiency. The M3 lithium battery has 1/3 less capacity than the usual 90 amp hour AGM ones that I ran before. Also want to hide amps and want to avoid A/B series heat.

6 channel for components and underseat woofers
1 channel subwoofer amp.

Thinking fisher match or mosconi / Gladen pico series for multi channel with built in dsp. Subwoofer amp, some small footprint

Coding

Still learning but my ID4 based IDrive will get recoded to at least “hifi”to use the 2 wire style differential audio outputs and get rid of the nasty base audio boosted audio curves. Ideally would prefer to use digital optical option from the idrive to amp but still learning the pros and cons of adding a Most adapter or DSP.

Music sources, 256g thumb drive with lossless music plugged into usb in centre console , iPhoneX for usual Spotify / Apple Music / iTunes . DVD /cd if needed.

Anyway , this is the starting point.

Below pics is now where the system is at. The rest of these posts is on how I chose and built the system and subsequently DSP tuning and other ramblings.
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Last edited by NealfromNZ; 08-20-2023 at 04:22 PM..
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      09-02-2022, 02:19 AM   #2
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Base audio has sails that are curved so not so easy put tweeter mounts in without cutting holes and using filler. Would also require painting.

Looking at the price of the Hk tweeter and door trims replacing the base trim is a cost effective way to have tweeter mounts.

Have order HK front pillar trims.

Part numbers 51337323509 and 51337323510
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      09-02-2022, 01:46 PM   #3
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Focal makes plug and play. Swap out all your speaker to focal. Component. Under seat subs and front dash speaker. And get 2 12w6. And JL amps. You car will be sounding like strip club. This is what I run now.
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      09-02-2022, 02:27 PM   #4
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confirm
buy focal kit fro front + rear door and choice the sws-8xi woofer to replace the original one under seat.

after take an helix MATCH UP 7BMW amplifier and after a calibration/setup enoy the real sound

im doing this mod but with other components to replace the harman kardon system
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      09-02-2022, 02:33 PM   #5
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I think your right on the brand. Leaning towards focal over the Gladens. A bit easier to get here in NZ and the door components have a 4 ohm load whereas gladens are 3 ohms.

The f80 speaker wire gauge to doors is only .75mm which is a bit skinny in my view and it previous audio builds I've typically 100 rms or more to front components. Looking at least 60 rms on the components and 4 ohm load a bit friendlier at the small gauge.

I'm thinking with the focals and go up the the K2 / ES range. Not quite plug and play but I did see a post on the F30 forum of a person who makes and sells adapter rings to use the factory mounting points. Sells the mounting rings on eBay.

So front doors will be Focal es100k


Back doors will be something from focal
Not doing parcel shelf speakers to make system easier to tune

Under-seat woofer will be Focal BMW Isub two ohm version. Will run new speaker cable for these as on base audio running off the ASD module both the woofers and door speakers are daisy chained together. Underseat woofer will also be better with at least a 16 gauge cable.

Trunk / boot sub likely to be my old Bostons from my e46 build.
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Last edited by NealfromNZ; 12-13-2022 at 12:40 AM.. Reason: Think I’m a bit dyslexic when I right stuff which needs correcting
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      09-02-2022, 03:05 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajeje View Post
confirm
buy focal kit fro front + rear door and choice the sws-8xi woofer to replace the original one under seat.

after take an helix MATCH UP 7BMW amplifier and after a calibration/setup enoy the real sound

im doing this mod but with other components to replace the harman kardon system
Thanks Ajeje

I see there is a new Match Amp / Dsp 8 channel amplifier that’s just hit the website. Same power but the 8th channel would allow active setup on front doors. Would allow better DSP time alignment between between mid bass and tweeter distances.

Also thinking focal over the extra bass and power handling with the SWS. The 22mm Xmax of the sws isquite impressive for such a shallow small sub. Would be interesting trying to model up its response in bass box pro but suspect the factory BMW enclosure would be hard to model.
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      09-14-2022, 02:54 AM   #7
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last week, finally, i finished my sound mod...

changed all mid and tweeter from HK speaker to original b&w taken from a damaged series 5 GXX.... 2 of front door are the "diamond" tweeter...

a fast advice for someone that read this...dont buy the b&w speaker from aliexpress beacuse arent original and they are completly different

for the under seat woofer i bought the sws -8xi (2Ohm version) and amplified with the Match up 10dsp.
after a very fast tune, now need to take a mic for RTA to complete the tune, i can tell the is a very big improvement...
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      09-14-2022, 04:40 AM   #8
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Ajeje , sounding great. Did you recode the NTB for B&W and are you liking the power from the match 10 dsp ?
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      09-15-2022, 01:15 AM   #9
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dont need to recode, speaker are plug n play
front door speaker have the crossover.

power of match is ok for me, cant reach max volume, its so loud and i was amazed by the quality and deep bass of thw sws speakers.

the HK sound was cold. Voices, guitars, piano didn't had a real presence on front of you.
in other song, like the guns, or red hot c.p. drums or bass guitar if you wanted to listen these, you needed to bring up the volume but in fact you only feel some vibration on the seat and not a real midbass/bass sound.

now is completly different.
the feature of the match dsp are incredible. at min volume now i can hear a superbass, voice are incredible, guitars sound are superb

i put one of my favorite song (40fingers song Hotel california) 50/60% of volume and say wow...is another car

i dont now if the fal kit, es 100 k, are quality greater than the bmw/b&w original speaker but think that the difference are little in compare
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      09-15-2022, 02:32 PM   #10
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Thanks for the reply.

With the coding it was more around the idrive. With mine from what I've read the unit runs a boost bass and treble curves from the head unit. I'll need to have it recoded so possibly hifi so the factory EQ setting are set.
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      09-16-2022, 01:57 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NealfromNZ View Post
Thanks for the reply.

With the coding it was more around the idrive. With mine from what I've read the unit runs a boost bass and treble curves from the head unit. I'll need to have it recoded so possibly hifi so the factory EQ setting are set.
in your case is reccomendet to code the hi-fi option
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      09-16-2022, 05:33 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ajeje View Post
last week, finally, i finished my sound mod...

changed all mid and tweeter from HK speaker to original b&w taken from a damaged series 5 GXX.... 2 of front door are the "diamond" tweeter...

a fast advice for someone that read this...dont buy the b&w speaker from aliexpress beacuse arent original and they are completly different

for the under seat woofer i bought the sws -8xi (2Ohm version) and amplified with the Match up 10dsp.
after a very fast tune, now need to take a mic for RTA to complete the tune, i can tell the is a very big improvement...
Can you maybe share your tune? I have except for the under seat woofer the same setup
And did you also code in the hi-fi option, or something else?
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      09-16-2022, 12:37 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fabje View Post
Can you maybe share your tune? I have except for the under seat woofer the same setup
And did you also code in the hi-fi option, or something else?
hi, you can check my thread
didn't code, replace directly the HK ampli via most interface
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      09-17-2022, 11:25 PM   #14
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Trunk Sub

Had a closer look at trunk / boot sub options today.

Was thinking of raised floor setup and dropping sub into the area under the trunk Matt. Was looking promising with roughly 1.2 cubic feet of space. 11 x 27.5 x 7.5 inch's .

Unfortunately my spg555 sub needed 8.25 plus depth plus box and room for cone travel. Even using a fibreglass enclosure wouldn't save enough space. Raised floor would have needed to be at least 4 inch above current level. It really needs a 10 inch sub or two to take advantage. But 1.2 Cubic Feet a bit small for a couple of focal K2 10s.

Tried sub box from my e46 build that was designed to fire through ski pass in back seat. Fitted ok , but not ideal as car facing. But still allows area under trunk floor to be used. I think I'll modify the existing enclosure and open up the sides , run a router bit and curve of the square edges a bit.

Need to find some carpet that match's the trunk liner.
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Last edited by NealfromNZ; 09-17-2022 at 11:39 PM..
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      09-29-2022, 04:55 AM   #15
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Brought an older iPhone 6 connect snap in adapter which are cheap on eBay at the moment. Currently have a iPhone X and wanted to free up usb 2 for my 256 gig thumb drive. Idea was to mod the iPhone 6 snap in to gain iPhone charging , aerial boost and get usb audio out of usb 1 / phone cradle.

Mod worked by talking snap in adapter apart. Removed 3 out of 4 springs and could get the iPhone X to dock.

Charging worked as a bit of the passive aerial , but no usb audio. Running NTB evo so it should work and have enhanced Bluetooth / office option. Cradle isn't coming up on idrive. Further troubleshooting to do but did check to ensure usb connection is connected cradle.
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      10-24-2022, 12:04 AM   #16
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Reworked the sub box to allow airflow through the sides on the front.

The older Boston Acoustics spg555 is quite a sub. Rated to 1000 rms and can do high 130s db in a ported box. Neodymium magnets and a surface area similar to a 13 inch sub. Cone has roughly 3.3/4 inches of travel. Kind of overkill for the system going into the M3 but it will have plenty in reserve.

Running this in a 1 cubic foot sealed box with a passive radiator which more SQ orientated. Also is a bit like running a ported box without taking up 2 1/2 cubic feet.

Added about 6mm to the bottom of the enclosure. This is so it will sit up against the trunk crossmember at the top. Will also add some brackets on the side and attach to the BMW rear tie down points. Don't want it submarining through the back seat in an accident.
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      01-17-2023, 03:07 AM   #17
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Have purchased some secondhand F3x HK under-seat woofers via USA to use the enclosures and maybe some subjective A/B testing between HK and replacement drivers of choice. Looking likely to have 150w RMS / 300w @ 4 ohms on tap if amp / DSP combo comes together. Either way , can drive the HK 8 ohm units to mechanical limits or most 4 ohm aftermarket choices to potential power limits.

Have also ordered a set of secondhand HK door speaker covers for mid bass and tweeters via UK. They look far more acoustically open than base audio / hifi covers.

These will arrive in Feb.

Otherwise , have run tracer wire for power amp feeds. At this stage dicing between single box multi channel solution with sub woofer channel or run old class d subwoofer amp from previous build.
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      01-17-2023, 03:39 AM   #18
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Looking to mount aftermarket amp in factory area. Power feed will use cavity in back trunk pannel . Will run either single or dual 4guage depending amp choices. Have run curtain wire as the tracker cable for pulling the power cables.

Will use area right of battery to install fuse holder and allow room for battery replacement. 6 mm mdf pannel wedges into place with battery hold down bracket allowing room for servicing battery or fuse. Path also won’t on trim insert cubbyhole.

Also enough room for trunk linner to mount cleanly with 4 gauge wire path as it sits with a gap off the rear panels.
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      02-10-2023, 12:15 AM   #19
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HK underseat woofers arrived as have HK Speaker grills for door midbass and rear tweeter mounting. HK are a far more open style than current base audio hifi. Hopefully more sonically transparent.

Spent an afternoon looking into other speaker options to mount in enclosures. Had one driver in mind that had great TS specs / and power handling. 58mm deep though and too close for comfit to seat rail for Xmax. Did a "true" 7mm one way which is great for an SQ oriented driver.

So for those wanting to install something different from the normal drop in range you have 38mm between under seat enclosure mounting face and the F80 / F30 seat rail. Speakers options with spacers of 18mm 3/4 inch or more need close attention to cone surround clearance with seat rail. That is of course if you don't reverse mount the drivers.

So undecided on bass units to run 55 - 150/ 200 HZ. HK will be the default.

Recent price drop occurred on Focals ES100ks down under so have ordered two sets for front and rear doors. Looks like March before they will arrive. Not going to bother with centre channel or rear parcel shelf speakers. Bit old school and prefer a forward Stereo image verses surround for music.

The Focal K2 tweeter frequency response looks flatter from an audio POV when off axis's as per the drivers seat position ( 30 degrees ) The mid bass also look reasonable off axis.

Front door pair will be run active for better time alignment of the tweeters and the rear doors will remain passive and will be turned down in volume to roughly 10% unless I have rear passengers. 60 watt rms rating will get them up to 100db mark which is plenty loud enough in the frequencies that they will run and not bad for 100mm driver. Likely amp choice will have more power than needed for these drivers.

Need to sort speaker / tweeter adaptors next and rear inner door card tweeter mounting brackets to hold HK covers. Will also need to run new speaker wires to front doors for active setup.
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      02-28-2023, 11:50 AM   #20
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So how has your project been coming so far? As our F80 sound upgrade projects are similar in many ways…. Have you decided how you will run the new tweeter wires yet …?
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      02-28-2023, 12:38 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmciver View Post
So how has your project been coming so far? As our F80 sound upgrade projects are similar in many ways…. Have you decided how you will run the new tweeter wires yet …?
I’m still at the buying bits stage. Decided I’ll make up a new speaker loom for all speakers rather than using the ASD loom which only has 4 speaker sets.

So like yourself will take advantage of the unpinned positions on the front and rear doors. Looking to run 18 gauage to front tweeters , 16 gauage to front mid bass via unused camera connection position , 16 gauge to rear door to passive crossover. 14 gauge to underseat woofers. Termination via bmw style connectors at speakers but not sure what to do at amp end yet

Will just get lengths of wire and twist together using electric drill / vice and tesa tape every foot so it’s looking factory ish.
I’ll run a MOST fibre connection from rear to front at the same time

Thinking I’ll order lengths of this wire as copper based and a number of colour choices ( rather than plated aluminium )

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/100500...Adapt=Pc2Msite
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      02-28-2023, 03:10 PM   #22
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Not sure how much power you plan on pushing in your system, but 18 gauge (which is the stock speaker wiring) should be plenty for the midranges, which is one reason I did not swap out the stock wiring for the midranges (remember that speaker wiring article I posted in my thread ?). Also, I believe the stock underseats have 16 gauge from the factory, even for your base audio system, which has been more than enough to power my underseat woofers with the MATCH UP10DSP at 150 watts RMS per channel for the underseats.

Running the wiring is not bad, based on my recent install experience, but no need to make things harder than they need to be IMHO .
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